Dojack, Paul (1914-2007)

Paul Dojack, Canadian Football League referee, 1962.

Bill Rose (Paul Dojack)

One of the longest serving officials in the Canadian Football League, Paul Dojack was born in Winnipeg on April 24, 1914. His family established a retail music business in Regina, and Dojack began playing football at a local school ground. His enthusiasm for sport led to the formation of the Dales Athletic Club, an organization that supported numerous sports teams including the Regina Dales Football Club. Dojack played for the Dales, but his greatest success came as the team’s coach: under his guidance, the Dales appeared in four consecutive western Canadian championships and won the 1938 Canadian junior football title. Paul Dojack’s 29-year officiating career began in 1941. He worked in 546 CFL games including fourteen Grey Cup finals, and was head referee in eight championship games. Dojack presided over two record-setting games: the only Grey Cup final to have gone into overtime in 1961, and the 1962 “Fog Bowl” played over two days. Several of his judgement calls have since been adopted into the CFL rulebook. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the Canadian and Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. In addition to working as a referee, Dojack helped troubled youth and served as recreation director of the Saskatchewan Boy’s Training School from 1965 to 1975. A decade later, the school was renamed the Paul Dojack Youth Centre. Paul Stanley Dojack passed away on November 6, 2007 at the age of 93 years.

Holden Stoffel